| Location: | Southeast |
| Setting: | Large City Setting |
| Type: | Private |
| Size: | Medium (2,000 to 5,000 Undergrad) |
| Mascot: | Jaguars |
Spelman College is a four-year liberal arts women's college located in Atlanta, Georgia. The college is part of the Atlanta University Center academic consortium in Atlanta. Spelman holds the distinction of being America's oldest historically black college for women.
Spelman has amassed an endowment fund of over $291 million, and is ranked currently at 75 in the 2008 U.S. News and World Report ranking of all U.S. liberal arts colleges. The 2008 U.S. News and World Report also ranked Spelman first among Historically Black Colleges and/or Universities.
Spelman was established on in the basement of Friendship Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, by two Massachusetts teachers from the Oread Institute: Harriet E. Giles and Sophia B. Packard. The school was originally named Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary and then in 1884, Spelman Seminary after Laura Spelman, an Oread student and wife of John D. Rockefeller who helped to fund the school.
Giles and Packard began the school with 11 African-American women and $100 given to them by a church congregation in Medford, Massachusetts. In 1882 the two women returned to Massachusetts to bid for more money and were introduced to wealthy businessman John D. Rockefeller at a church conference in Ohio.
In 1883, the school relocated to a nine acre (36,000 m²) site in Atlanta relatively close to the church they began in, which originally had only five buildings to support classroom and residence hall needs. The school was able to survive on generous donations by the black community in Atlanta, the efforts of volunteer teachers, and gifts of supplies.
In April 1884, Rockefeller visited the school and decided that he liked what he saw, so he settled the debt on the property. The name of the school was changed to the Spelman Seminary, in honor of Rockefeller's in-laws the Spelmans, longtime activists in the anti-slavery movement. Rockefeller's gift precipitated a flurry of interest from other benefactors, and their investements allowed the school to flourish.
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| Percent of Students International: | 1% |
| On-Campus Housing Available: | Yes |
| Percent of Students Living On-Campus: | 52% |
| Freshman Students Required to Live on Campus: | No |
| Member of: | NAA, NCAA |
| Sports Include: |
Basketball (Division III Independents) Track (Division III Independents) |
| Tuition & Fees (undergraduate) | Expenses | ||
Published Tuition and Fees: |
$ 15,945 | ||
Average Tuition for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 13,525 | ||
Required Fees for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 2,420 | ||
| Financial Aid | Avg. Amount Received | % of Students Receiving Aid | |
Federal Grants: |
$ 2,500 | 51% | |
State and Local Grants: |
$ 2,000 | 25% | |
Institutional Grants: |
$ 2,000 | 6% | |
Student Loans: |
$ 2,000 | 66% | |
Any Aid: |
81% |
| Acceptance Rate: | 47% (Highly Selective) |
| Test Scores | |
| SAT Scores: | |
| % of Students Submitting SAT Scores: | 86% |
| Bottom 25th Percentile: | Verbal: 490, Math: 490 |
| Top 75th Percentile: | Verbal: 580, Math: 560 |
| Application Fee: | $ 35.00 |
| Formal Demonstration of Competencies: | Not Required |
| High School Diploma or Equivalent: | Not Required |
| High School GPA: | Required |
| High School Rank: | Recommended |
| High School Record: | Required |
| Recommendations: | Required |
| TOEFL: | Required |
| Test Scores: | Required |
College Advice
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Question:
spelman or uic?
i'm so confused. i'm a junior in high school and i need to start picking my colleges and my dream school is spelman, it just seems so elegant and together and the sisterhood is so close. my family wants me to stay in illinois and go to a university here. they think that if i go to an black college that i might have to take over some classes, because there not the same as the diverse or white colleges. they feel that the other colleges have better book and technology than the historically black ones. my grandpa said that back in the 60,70,80's i could go to spelman, but now days its better to go an more diverse college. what do you guys think?
12 months ago
Best Answer
My best friend went to Spelman and I went to a different women's college. She had an incredibly experience there. She felt incredibly academically prepared and also found it to be a really nurturing environment. There are a lot of studies that suggest that women's colleges in general provide really great places for young women to grow and get wonderful educations. I know my time in a women's college was great.
In terms of Spelman though, my best friend went on to attend a masters program at MIT and I know lots of her graduating classes went on to super graduate programs so I wouldn't worry about the books or technology being outdated. I think it has a really strong reputation with graduate programs. I know the professional networking and mentoring there (and at women's colleges in general) are really great. I'm sure it would be a wonderful, empowering liberal arts experience.
That said, Univ of Illinois is a great school with wonderful faculty. You might want to think about the Urbana Champaign campus though because I've heard undergrads have better experiences there...
Good luck!! :)
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Best Answer
Outstanding. Years ago I had the privilege of knowing some students from Spelman, and they were very influential in my young life.
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Question:
clark atlanta university or spelman?
i have been accepted to both colleges and i can't decide where to go
15 months ago
Best Answer
It all depends on what you are looking for. I graduated from Morehouse so I have a pretty objective view about both school. Clark Atlanta is a University so depending on what major you want like Mass Comm. or Journalism you may opt to go to CAU. The social scene is good and the school is co ed. My friend who is a recent graduate of Clark explained that the school is going through some things as far as the adminstration and accrediation so you may want to be wary of that. Spelman is a school that if you are looking for sisterhood and becoming part of a lifelong legacy you want to consider. It has several prominent alums, it has a beautiful campus and its right next to Morehouse so if you the single sex thing turns you off, dont worry cause Morehouse and Spelman are pratically the same campus. I have had girlfriends at both schools and CAU is a great school however I feel that the experience you would get a Spelman would be a once and lifetime experience. CAU, Hampton and Howard all provide similar experiences with some variations in academic rigor.
If I had a younger sister, I would definitely say Spelman. You can always cross register at CAU if you want the Co Ed experience. Bottom line whereever you go in the AUC will be great.
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trying to find a dorm that is not a honor drom(not the LL1)
19 months ago
Best Answer
As a Spelman Alumna, all the dorms are the same but with different names. You should look into staying at Morehouse-James, it is a really nice dorm!!!
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i was reading somewhere that there is a reason why it is not considered a university,and me and my friends were debating why but we are also studying for a final so we couldn't look it up.
20 months ago
Best Answer
Private/public doesn't tell you whether an institution is considered a college or a university. Typically colleges are smaller, focused mainly if not entirely on undergraduates, and often, though not always, they have more of a liberal arts feel rather than pre-professional. Universities are larger, often contain several colleges within them (such as a college of arts and sciences, college of nursing, school of engineering, etc.), and contain a significant population of graduate students. In your neck of the woods, Spelman, Morehouse, Oglethorpe would be colleges, and Emory, UGA, GA Tech would be universities.
As a side note Spelman is a wonderful school, particularly for young woman interested in science and engineering. It is single-sex but right across the street from Morehouse and socially very integrated with them.
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